History has seen many engaging films highlighting photographers: Tish Murtha. Perhaps the film medium naturally comes alive when presenting particularly vivid still images. Here comes another remarkable instance, directed by filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the impressive professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, artist and social justice champion who represented a special cultural-activist approach.
Together with his brother Elombe, he virtually invented the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” during the mid-century era by photographing the African American women in Harlem: youthful women of color who transformed into the groundbreaking archetype for visual appeal, rejecting conventional beauty standards and the established white standard of femininity.
The Influence of a Revolutionary Slogan
Black Is Beautiful became a radical call to action, an inspired concise prose poem for transformation. Simply declaring that people of color possessed beauty proved to be a empowering influence in art, activism and creative expression. Brathwaite grew into a key figure in the Black power global Black movement by photographing the legendary boxer before his legendary championship fight in 1974.
He became the official visual documentarian for the band's international performances, and later assumed the role of the house photographer for the legendary Apollo theatre, creating an incredible collection of musical pioneers. In collaboration with his sibling, he became the key organizer behind arranging for the anti-apartheid icon to address the public in Harlem.
Family Legacy
The photographer's offspring Kwame Jr shares the their mission to secure proper recognition for his family heritage after he was unjustly ignored in the nation's capital's National Museum of African American History and Culture, established by the former president in this century.
This documentary further reveals the deeply tragic inspiration of the artist's passion for image making: the disturbing pictures of the young victim, the adolescent Black tragic figure whose grieving mother defiantly demanded an open coffin so the brutal truth of racist violence could not be hidden.
From Tragedy to Beauty
Through this image of violence, the artist discovered a form of profound understanding that led him toward photographs of beauty. His work were eloquent of celebratory strength and typically not overtly political: he developed a fresh iconography of pride upon which political movements could mobilize.
It is an exhilarating testament of cultural impact that persists in inspire through the years.
